A Christmas Together
by kdzl
Summary: Delayed flights cause two team members to share an early dinner and discuss Christmas plans. JJ/Morgan.


_AN/Ok, so I was really inspired to do this by a friend as we bemoaned that there are very few JJ/Morgan fics out there. Merry Christmas to all the JJ/Morgan shippers out there! Let me know what you think, but this will probably just stay a one-shot. This is set in real time. It's my first try at some JJ/Morgan shipping (Which I happen to love, BTW. Yes, I am one of those. )_

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Derek Morgan sighed--this was going to be a long, long evening. He had planned on his usual Christmas with his family but his flight had been delayed. _Again!_ Apparently the freak snow storms in the western half of the US had somehow delayed his flight to Chicago—_three times!_Derek Morgan was not an impatient person, but waiting in the crowded terminal was not his idea of a fun experience. Deciding to grab a bite to eat, he walked over to where the various food vendors were, hoping that a cup of coffee and maybe a hamburger would cure his Un-Christmas like mood.

Standing in front of Burger King, Morgan debated whether or not to splurge for the Whopper Value Meal or just go for the burger. Deciding to splurge, he stepped up to the counter, suddenly recognizing the voice of the woman in front of him. He was shocked that he hadn't noticed her before, and mentally chastized himself for that--he should have at least noticed the small baby that she was holding. Even though he hadn't seen her since September but for a brief moment in the 'BAU Room' as Reid had now dubbed it, he should have recognized her.

"And a Hershey's Sundae Pie." The woman added to her order, smiling slightly as she adjusted the binki in her young son's mouth.

"JJ?" A deep voice that she immediately recognized startled her.

"Oh! Morgan!" JJ blushed, startled. Had she known that one of her coworkers--particularly Derek Morgan--would see her ordering in the airport, she wouldn't have gotten nearly as much food.

"That will be $12.87" The cashier said, unsure of what was happening before her. As JJ reached for her debit card, Morgan placed a firm hand on her shoulder, sending chills up her spine.

"Add a Whopper Value Meal to that, and another Sundae Pie." He said, handing the woman his card. Then, turning to the petite blonde woman beside him smiled, "My treat."

JJ grabbed the cups. "Dr. Pepper, right?" She asked him, although she didn't need to. He nodded, as he waited patiently for their food to arrive, allowing her to fill the large sodas.

Morgan grabbed their early dinner and found his blonde co-worker seated at a small boothe in the corner of the sitting area. "Are you ready for a 'gourmet' meal?" He asked, smiling.

She laughed quickly. "Had I known you were coming, I wouldn't have ordered everything on the menu." She joked as she reached for her meal.

"Nuh-uh. What does the lovely Jennifer Jareau eat when she thinks that no one is watching?" Morgan raised his eyebrows excitedly as he held the bags out of her reach.

"Well, what does Derek Morgan eat when he thinks no one will know how many carbs and grams of fat he really is eating?" JJ retorted.

"Hey, I'm just a whopper, and whatever that pie thing is that you got--it sounded good." Morgan defended, and began searching through the bag. "Chicken nuggets, can't say I'm surprised. French Fries--we all know how much you like those. A triple Whopper with bacon and cheese! Now that is surprising!" Morgan laughed as she snatched the sandwhich out of his hands.

"I'm hungry!" JJ defended, "I get to lug this puppy around all day--it's exhausting." She said, then smiled as Morgan gracefully stood and took the baby from her.

"Where's Will at?" Morgan asked, feeling a slight thrill of excitement as disgust clouded her normally bright face.

"That's a good question." JJ scoffed, causing Morgan to raise his eyebrows questioningly--all the while feeling his excitement grow.

"He left shortly after Henry came home. Haven't heard from him since. Don't really want to." JJ said in a clear tone, making it perfectly clear that she _did not_ want to talk about it.

"Well he's an idiot. You _both _deserve better." Morgan said, the words coming out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them.

"Thanks." JJ said, her fingers reaching up to her eyes as though to push away imaginary hair, though Morgan distinctly saw the traces of water that she flecked from her eyes.

A moment of silence permeated the table, both FBI agents lost in their own thoughts. Derek thought back to his time working with JJ. Each case they took, she _always_ took it personally. Not to the point where she couldn't remain objective or do her job--on the contrary, she seemed to do her job better. He loved watching her comfort the families of victims, seeing the soft side of herself that she rarely put out for others to see, unless they were dealing with their own trauma.

He remembered how she had insisted that CPD had the wrong man when all of the evidence pointed to him as a murder. She must have figured out his secret, he remembered her coming up and placing a hand on his shoulder after Buford had been arrested. Hotch and Gideon had agreed to keep his past in the dark, but at that moment, when he looked into her eyes and saw the empathy that she normally reserved for victims and their families he knew that she was a far better profiler than anyone ever gave her credit for. Strangely it was her comfort and support that he had been afraid of receiving, although that was the very comfort and support that allowed him to finally let go of some of the demons in his own closet.

"Have you ever wondered why you and I never seem to be paired up together?" JJ blurted out, filling the silence.

Morgan chuckled, wondering not for the first time if she could read his thoughts. "Yeah, all the time. You and I have worked together the longest. Yet we never go out together. But it's probably that Hotch doesn't want to put Emily and Reid together--we both know how well that pair can shoot." Morgan teased their friends who weren't present as JJ laughed heartily. Although Reid struggled to pass his qualification, Emily always seemed to _barely_ pass--something that infuriated the older brunette.

"Yeah. That's probably it." She laughed as she fell into her own thoughts once more. She wasn't sure why she always looked to the man across from her for affirmation. She even allowed Hotch to see her broken down state--sometimes asking him how to balance emotions during difficult cases. But for some reason, she never wanted Morgan to see her that way. Even after Reid's ordeal with Tobias, it was _him_ she had gone to, waiting for a reprimand. She knew no one would blame her, but she needed the validation of Derek Morgan to quiet her own feelings of inadequacy.

She wondered if Hotch knew about her crush on him, on the illustrious Derek Morgan. Maybe that was why he never allowed them to go out together. She could count on one hand the number of times she had been paired with Morgan on a case, yet they had worked together for almost five years.

"So, where _were_ you headed?" Morgan asked, pulling her from her own thoughts.

"Oh, my family was all headed to my brother's house in Missouri. We alternate every Christmas, but this was the closest flight I could get to Christmas, we were supposed to come back the morning after Christmas. Everybody else has been there about a week." JJ admitted.

"JJ. It's the 23rd! What? Not one for family gatherings?" Morgan asked teasingly, sipping his Dr. Pepper.

"When all your siblings are married with four kids and are perfect in every way and _you're_a single mom raising a newborn on your own, you call me." JJ retorted.

Morgan chuckled, "Well, for what it's worth, I bet none of your siblings are beautiful FBI agents that make a difference in people's lives every day."

She smiled, fighting the redness that threatened to expose her delight at him calling her beautiful. "What about you? Heading to Chicago?" JJ asked, hoping to divert his attention away from her as she finished her chicken nuggets and picked up her overly large hamburger.

"Well, I _was_ going back home to Chicago--but with the delays, I don't know if I'll make it in time. Now, I'm debating asking for a refund and just going home and spending Christmas in my apartment." Morgan admitted.

"You can't spend Christmas alone!" JJ insisted. Morgan chuckled at how rapidly she ate the large hamburger. Secretly, he had always appreciated a woman with an appetite. Nothing bothered him more than women who wouldn't eat--it just wasn't healthy! Seeing JJ down a hamburger was oddly electrifying.

"Well, I don't seem to have any better offers." Morgan countered.

"Come spend Christmas with Henry and me." JJ demanded, finishing the last bites of her french fries.

"JJ, I'm sure--" Morgan started.

"You're sure what? That I'd rather go to Missouri and hear that I can't keep a man? Or that Will's magically going to come back to my apartment after three months? You're coming home with us." JJ insisted, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks at the slight innuendo.

"Well, then I would be delighted." Morgan said as he began to clear up the trays. "You didn't check any luggage did you?" Morgan asked once he returned. Luckily he didn't trust the airlines and refused to check his own luggage.

"What? You think I'm not used to traveling?" She said with a slight gleam in her eyes. "Everything I needed for the three day trip is in my ready bag." She told him, although he really should have known. JJ was meticulous in the details, and the idea of her personal items being out of her immediate control and subject to searches by people she didn't know should have told him the answer to his question.

The Christmas Eve that they shared was memorable to both members, sitting on JJ's oversized couch watching Christmas movies until the wee hours of the morning and throughout the next day. The entire day was filled with building a snowman with the small amount of Virginia snow on the grass in front of JJ's apartment complex, baking cookies in JJ's seemingly well used oven, and many more in depth conversations about anything they could think up. Truthfully, it was the most intimate Christmas either one had experienced--learning unique details about each other's past, sharing favorite memories, and traumatic experiences. Both had been hurt, and were both incredibly weary of starting a relationship, but both were shocked at how easy it was to divulge their feelings to the other.

"Merry Christmas, Derek." JJ murmured as she drifted off to sleep on Christmas Eve, wrapped in the strong arms of Derek Morgan on her couch as the movie continued to play.

"Merry Christmas, JJ." Morgan replied, silently vowing to himself that they would have many more Christmas Eves snuggled in each other's arms.


End file.
